Topping the list was the Venezuelan capital Caracas which has been marred by violence and homicide mainly due to drug trafficking, gang wars, political instability, corruption and poverty.

The city had 119.87 homicides for every 100,000 residents.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warns Australians about the risks of travelling to Venezuela on the Smart Traveller website.

“We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in Venezuela because of high levels of serious crime and ongoing political uncertainty. You should pay close attention to your personal security at all times. Monitor the media and other sources about possible new security risks.”

Brazil, which is set to host the Olympic Games, has a total of 21 cities on the list.

Chaos ... A policeman lies on the street as demonstrators clash with riot police after a protest against the suspected massacre of 43 missing students, near the airport in Acapulco, in Mexico. Acapulco came fourth on the list. Picture: AFP/Pedro PardoSource:Supplied

The Central American country, which is home to six million people, has been engulfed by gang-related violence which has caused death tolls to rise to similar levels as seen during the country’s civil war in the 1980s reported the Independent UK.

Ioan Grillo, author of Gangster Warlords: Drug Dollars, Killing Fields, and the New Politics of Latin America said the violence in Latin America can be blamed mainly on narcotics.

“Narcotics are the biggest black market earner of all. Estimated to be worth more than three hundred billion dollars a year, the global industry has pumped huge resources into criminal empires decade after decade,” Grillo told the Business Insider.

Gang violence ... M18 gang members look out through the bars of the designated M18 'gang cage' in the Quezaltepeque police station in San Salvador. Picture: Giles Clarke/GettySource:Getty Images

“So that amount of money, $100 billion a year, 10 years, a trillion dollars, 30 years, $3 trillion. That amount of money pumps in these organisations ... buying more guns, paying more assassins, bribing more police, bribing more politicians ... and that is why the region right now, Latin American and the Caribbean, are at a boiling point.”

But while the majority of cities are in Latin America, cities in developed countries such as US also made the list with Baltimore, Detroit, St Louis and New Orleans featuring.

Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa were also ranked in the top 50.

US cities make the list ... Demonstrators climb on a destroyed Baltimore Police car in the street during violent protests. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty/AFPSource:Supplied

The 50 most dangerous cities in the world

1. Caracas, Venezuela — 119.87

2. San Pedro Sula, Honduras — 111.03

3. San Salvador, El Salvador — 108.54

4. Acapulco, Mexico — 104.73

5. Maturin, Venezuela — 86.45

6. Distrito Central, Honduras — 73.51

7. Valencia, Venezuela — 72.31

8. Palmira, Colombia — 70.88

9. Cape Town, South Africa — 65.53

10. Cali, Colombia — 64.27

11. Cuidad Guayana, Venezuela — 62.33

12. Fortaleza, Brazil — 60.77

13. Natal, Brazil — 60.66

14. Salvador, Brazil — 60.63

15. St Louis, Missouri, U.S. — 59.23

16. Joao Pessoa, Brazil — 58.40

17. Culiacan, Mexico — 56.09

18. Maceio, Brazil — 55.63

19. Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. — 54.98

20. Barquisimeto, Venezuela — 54.96

21. Sao Luis, Brazil — 53.05

22. Cuiaba, Brazil — 48.52

23. Manaus, Brazil — 47.87

24. Cumana, Venezuela — 47.77

25. Guatemala City, Guatemala — 47.17

26. Belem, Brazil — 45.83

27. Feira de Santana, Brazil — 45.5

28. Detroit, Michigan, U.S. — 43.89

29. Goiania, Brazil — 43.38

30. Teresina, Brazil — 42.64

31. Vitoria, Brazil — 41.99

32. New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. — 41.44

33. Kingston, Jamaica — 41.14

34. Gran Barcelona, Venezuela — 40.08

35. Tijuana, Mexico — 39.09

36. Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil — 38.46

37. Recife, Brazil — 38.12

38. Aracaju. Brazil — 37.7

39. Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil — 36.16

40. Campina Grande, Brazil — 36.04

41. Durban, South Africa — 35.93

42. Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa — 35.85

43. Porto Alegre, Brazil — 34.73

44. Curitiba, Brazil — 34.71

45. Pereira, Colombia — 32.58

46. Victoria, Mexico — 30.50

47. Johannesburg, South Africa — 30.31

48. Macapa, Brazil — 30.25

49. Maracaibo, Venezuela — 28.85

50. Obregon, Mexico — 28.29

No-go zone ... A member of the Venezuelan security explosives squad searches for evidence at the site of an explosion outside the administrative offices of the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela. Picture: AP/Fernando LlanoSource:AP

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